Our first experiences with lap books were pretty close to complete failures. They’re incredibly popular among homeschoolers, but this was one type of project that I hoped we wouldn’t do again. I ended up doing most of the work, and my kids didn’t get much out of them. When BookShark introduced their history lap books to go with their American History 1 and 2 programs, my oldest was 9 years old and heading into the first year of American History. I was curious, but not looking forward to repeating our earlier experience. Curiosity won.
Pairing Projects with Kids’ Ability
My daughter was about to start BookShark’s level 3 program (American History 1) when they released their lap books. She was right in the middle the recommended age range of 8-11 years old and in her 4th grade year. It had been a few years since our last try with lap books. What a difference that made!
She now had the skills to create a well-done lap book without any help from me. She had the coordination needed to precisely cut and paste each activity so that everything fit in its place. She had solid comprehension of the material from the books and the writing skills needed to complete these activities without a lot of prompting from me. This was a big factor in her success with the lap book!
Choosing projects based on our kids’ abilities is incredibly important. They need challenging work, but they can get too frustrated if mom or dad end up doing too much of the work. We’ve even seen our kids refuse to acknowledge projects when teachers helped them too much. It’s no longer their own work.
For my daughter, this BookShark lap book was a great fit. It was challenging, but she could do it on her own. Now that we’ve had this experience, I’m convinced that our previous lap book failures were simply because my kids were too young.
BookShark’s American History Lap Books
The American History I lap book has 25 activities that will take your kids from the first European explorers who landed in the Americas to the mid-1800s. The American History II lap book has 45 activities that pick up at the Civil War and continue through the race to put the first man in space. Each lap book takes one year to complete spread out over 36 school weeks. I love that these aren’t quick lap books that kids race through.
The first thing that struck me was the organization of the lap book kit. The lap books we’d tried before were downloads we’d purchased. I had to print everything on card stock and track down some unusual supplies. Most of them came with minimal instructions, so I spent many hours tracking down YouTube videos to help me out.
BookShark’s lap books come in a kit with everything you need – including any uncommon supplies. You only need to supply items like a pair of scissors, stapler, and colored pencils. The papers are organized in the order in which you’ll do each activity, so it’s incredibly easy to find what you need quickly. They even include the lap book folder already put together. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to assemble the folders for our first lap book years ago! Just like their history programs, these lap books are open and go.
The lap books come with their own guide with detailed instructions and pictures. Other lap books left me confused, but these instructions were very helpful and written in a way that my daughter could read and follow once she’d found her rhythm of doing the lap book.
Many of the activities have short writing prompts for the student to fill in. Don’t worry if the details have faded a bit for you. The instruction book comes with an answer key, so you can make sure your student covers the key points of the activity.
Related Post – How to Organize BookShark Materials
Scheduling the Lap Book Activities
Each activity is scheduled in the history Instructor’s Guide, so you know exactly which activity lines up with each topic. My favorite tip for these lap books is something we stumbled on accidentally. As many homeschoolers know, it’s very easy to get off schedule. That’s completely okay – even when using a program with a structured schedule like BookShark. It happens.
We got a few weeks behind with the lap book. For some of the activities, it was hard for her to remember enough details of the person or event. I told her in which books we’d read about it, and she developed her research and skimming skills by going back through the books. It’s also a great way to build in some review. Now that she’s doing the level 4 lap book, I’m intentionally keeping her about 3-4 weeks behind schedule. It gives her a bit more work, but she doesn’t mind it at all.
BookShark’s American History 1 Lap Book
A Tool for the Student to Teach
As she completed the lap book, she was excited to show everyone what she’d accomplished – especially her little sister. She went through every single activity with her and explained each event and person highlighted in her lap book. Instead of just reading from the activities, she also expanded on them to help her sister understand. She connected events and people to each other to give her sister a more complete picture.
Many people wonder how homeschoolers can assess their kids without routine worksheets, quizzes, and tests. This is how. Their knowledge comes out in play and while showing off their projects to others. Plus, teaching someone else is a fantastic way to solidify our own knowledge. My daughter now has a tool to teach what she’s learned to her little sister.
A Closer Look at the BookShark’s American History Lap Books
Would you like a closer look at all of the activities in a completed BookShark American History 1 lap book and the American History 2 lap book kit? You can check out this video I did with both of them.
I’m so glad we gave lap books another try! These history lap books have been a fantastic addition to our homeschool routine. Choosing a quality lap book, and waiting until my daughter had the ability to complete it, made this a successful project.
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